In 1930's southwestern New Mexico, drought and the Great Depression are hitting ranchers and homesteaders hard. Roosevelt's New Deal is just beginning to "turn the country around", and Eleanor, anathema to some, is a source of inspiration for ranch wives Ruby Aragon and Gardy Trotter. The women, and husbands Manny and Cass, have dreams: stardom in the "talkies", a Spanish land-grant, and a lost gold mine. Reality is drought, a ne'er-do-well son, and a decrepit old "flivver." The saga ambles and rollicks along to blue-grass banjo.